Authorized by the Alliance Space Command (ASC), the AS Procyon was launched by the Western Alliance to explore Mars. The AS Procyon was the second of the Altair-class transports launched and used a conventional chemical propulsion system. Launched in August, 2017, with a crew of six, the AS Procyon was equipped with scientific instrumentation and supplies for the year-long round trip.[1]

The AS Procyon had at least three sister ships, including the AS Altair, which launched a month before the AS Procyon and performed the first manned mission to Mars,[1] and the AS Columbia, which launched in 2018, and which was refitted in 2026, to become the first fusion-powered interstellar transport.[2]